How to use Locked Codes

Hello all!

So for today we’re going to discuss one of Talkadot’s most confusing secrets! 😆

Locked codes aren’t intended to be confusing or complicated, but since we don’t promote the feature people generally stumble on to it, and come to their own conclusions about how this all works. To alleviate that confusion (and the number of emails I get about it!) I thought we were past due for a good old fashioned explanation.

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What is a locked code you might be asking, and how do a use it? Great question! To start off this explanation, I need to explain a little about how the normal survey codes work. As I may have mentioned on another article, there are two halves to the system. The ‘Talk’ (aka the event) and the Survey Code.

Under normal circumstances, these two halves are not connected to each other except while data is coming in. The analogy I’ve found that seems to work best is to think of it like refilling a bottle with olive oil. When refilling the bottle, its easiest to use a funnel. The funnel is not connected to the bottle, except when you are actually using it for the filling. In this analogy the ‘bottle’ is the Talk, and the olive oil is your audience data. When data starts to flow into the system, we pop the funnel in the bottle, and fill it up!

The way survey codes work is based on when the data comes in. See the first time a survey code is opened, it creates a 30 minute window. After 30 minutes the ‘window’ closes, and the ‘funnel’ is removed from the bottle. They are now not connected at all. You can throw the funnel out (delete the survey code) and it won’t effect the data or the talk.

If you already have an event set up and ready to go that day, the funnel is popped into the waiting bottle, but if not we’ll create an unlabeled event for you so none of the data is lost! This is also why we recommend not testing your survey codes the morning of an event! Even if you back out immediately, you’ll still have opened the window, and your talk will still be ‘used’ when the data comes in later.

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Okay (you might be saying) fair enough, but what is a locked code?

Well, not every speaker is going to have an event in front of an audience where everyone will respond at roughly the same time. Maybe the Speaker is part of a corporate training, and every new employee will see the event. Maybe the Speaker is speaking at a conference, and leaves business cards with their QR codes around because they want a response from anyone that weekend!

In situations like this, it would create a real mess on your account if all of this data came in as single responses. So instead we created the locked code system. Its a way to permanently (or I guess semi-permanently) attach a specific survey code to a specific event. Think of it as duct-taping the funnel to the bottle. Now they’re attached.

What this means is that any data that comes in on this survey code will always go into the same event. Someone scans that QR code a year from now, it will still go into that event last Tuesday.

That’s what a locked code is for. Asynchronous responses. Now, what if down the road you don’t need that locked event anymore, and you want to start using that particular survey again? Well, that’s why I said ‘semi-permanent’. You can always disconnect the survey code, peel the tape off the bottle, and pull the funnel out. This won’t effect any data already collected though, that’s safely in your bottle, it just allows you to use the survey for other events.

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Now then, let’s get to how to connect (or disconnect) these survey codes, as well as how to identify if a survey code is locked.

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When creating a new event, you’ll see a whole list of questions we ask about the Talk. Things to help you keep organized mostly or to add data to your Profile, but at the very very bottom, you’ll see ‘Advanced Settings’:

Drop that down, and you’ll see a brief warning about locked codes, and a drop down that will allow you to select the code you want to use:

After you select the survey code and select ‘Done’ you’ll see on your list of talks that that event has a little lock next to the survey code in question under it:

This indicates that this talk is locked to this event! You can also see this on your ‘Get Feedback’ page with all your survey codes, as any that are currently locked will show that icon there as well:

If you want to unlock an event, you can do that the exact same way you locked it in the first place. Go to the locked talk, click the three dots on the right and select ‘Edit Event’ then scroll down to ‘Advanced Settings’ and this time click ‘Clear Code’. This will remove the lock for you!

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The locked codes functionality is available at any plan level, as its a necessary feature for certain kinds of talks, but do note that since that survey code will become unusable for anything other than that one event, you may want to keep at least one survey code slot for a regular (unlocked) survey.

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If you had a locked event, and forgot the code was locked and some data just came in on the wrong event, well you’re not alone. That happens occasionally, and you can reach out to me over at [email protected] and we’ll get you sorted.

Until next time!